Brookfield seeks ADQ support in bid for Spain’s Grifols

Grifols Canada/X

Brookfield Asset Management has been in discussions with ADQ, a sovereign wealth fund in Abu Dhabi, to explore potential support for acquiring Spanish blood-plasma company Grifols SA.

The Canada-based investment company has also held talks with Singapore’s GIC Pte, though no agreements have been finalised, Bloomberg reported, citing unnamed sources.

Grifols, which is traded on Spanish bourses, is expected to go private following the deal, with an estimated equity value of €8 billion ($8.9 billion).

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The company’s shares have plummeted by nearly a third since January after short seller Gotham City Research raised concerns on its governance and accounting practices. Grifols has denied the allegations.

Brookfield has been actively investing in the UAE since the start of the year.

In April, Dubai’s sovereign wealth fund, the Investment Corporation of Dubai, and Brookfield Corporation sold a 49 percent stake in ICD Brookfield Place (ICDBP), the emirates’ largest office tower.

• ADQ in talks to buy Turkish lender Odeabank
• Abu Dhabi’s ADQ buys minority stake in Sotheby’s
• Frank Kane: I have seen the future and it’s ICD Brookfield Place

In June, a consortium led by Brookfield Asset Management was reported to be investing in Gems Education, the UAE’s private school operator.

The Canadian company also acquired a controlling stake in a portfolio of warehouses owned by the UAE’s Gulf Islamic Investments.